58,000 illegal aliens with criminal records reside in major sanctuary city: ICE

New York City is home to nearly 60,000 illegal aliens who either have felony convictions or are facing criminal charges, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data through November 17.

The data, obtained by the New York Post, revealed that of the 759,218 illegal immigrants residing in the sanctuary city, 58,626 have been previously convicted of a crime or face pending charges, which accounts for 7.7% of New York City's illegal alien population.

'They need to stop using New Yorkers' hard-earned tax dollars to shield criminals wreaking havoc on our streets.'

Additionally, of those 58,626 individuals, 1,153 are reportedly "suspected or known gang members."

More than 223,000 immigrants have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022, and roughly 58,000 continue to rely on taxpayer-funded shelters.

ICE data through July 21 further divulged that of the nearly 7.8 million illegal aliens in the United States, 662,586, or 8.6%, are convicted criminals or face pending charges. The agency reportedly did not provide information detailing how many of those individuals are tied to gangs.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) responded to the report by attributing the situation to President Joe Biden and other Democratic leaders' lenient crime policies and open-border stance, according to the Post.

Malliotakis told the news outlet, "It's shocking that Democrats have gone so far out of their way to harbor gang members, drug traffickers and other criminals who are in our country illegally."

"In many cases, they've provided them with housing, food, and health care," she continued. "They need to stop using New Yorkers' hard-earned tax dollars to shield criminals wreaking havoc on our streets and instead cooperate with ICE to have them deported."

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) indicated to the Post that he would cooperate with President-elect Donald Trump's administration to remove criminal illegal immigrants from the city.

"I support the deportation of criminals and will work with the incoming administration to accomplish that goal. We must also secure the border, fix the broken asylum system and modernize the legal immigration system," Suozzi said.

New York City council member Robert Holden, a Democrat, has previously voiced his support for ending the city's current sanctuary policies that shield criminals from ICE agents.

In November, he sent a letter to Mayor Eric Adams (D), Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), and other city and state leaders urging them to reconsider their support of the city's sanctuary status.

In response to ICE's latest data, Holden told the Post, "These numbers make it clear what everyone but our elected officials already know: Sanctuary city laws are endangering New Yorkers by shielding criminals instead of protecting law-abiding citizens."

In an unexpected shift, Hochul last week pledged to be "the first to call ICE" on criminal illegal aliens.

A spokesperson for Adams' office told the Post, "Mayor Adams has repeatedly said that while we will continue to respect our city's sanctuary laws, we must also have a serious conversation about the small number of individuals who repeatedly commit violent crimes in our city and the consequences they face."

"We must also fix this nation's unsuccessful border policies that have led us to this place," the spokesperson added.

Kenneth Genalo, the director of ICE's New York City field office, has warned that deporting the city's criminal illegal aliens would "take a lifetime."

He told the Post that such an effort would require "additional resources" for his office, which investigates thousands of cases daily.

"The fact is that I have to focus all of my resources on the worst of the worst, the most egregious violators. All I can tell you is we have leads that we work every day — and it's not in the hundreds," Genalo explained.

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